Tiger in Tunnel

DatePossibly 1953

Artist/Maker Martin Ramirez (ca. 1885-1960)

MediumCrayon and pencil on brown wove wrapping paper

Dimensions25" x 30 1/8" (61.0 cm. x 76.5 cm.) Unframed.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1980.201.1

DescriptionThis drawing of a tiger entering a tunnel is carefully drawn and nearly symmetrical in arrangement. The repetitive black crayon lines used for the architectural devices contrast effectively with the soft gradations of gold and yellow crayon in the outer elements and the pinks and blues within the tunnel area.
Label TextMartin Ramirez was born in Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to the United States in search of employment as a young man. In about 1930, he began to exhibit symptoms of schizophrenia and later was diagnosed, spending the rest of his life in the DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn, California. From 1948 until his death, Ramirez produced a remarkable group of about three hundred drawings using stubs of pencils and crayons on a variety of scrap pieces of paper. With these mundane materials, he created complex compositions framed by repetitive, linear patterns that depicted animals, Madonnas, trains, and other figures.
MarkingsIn pencil on the left border near lower corner is "12/53"
ProvenanceUnknown-1980, Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. (New York, NY); 1980-present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.